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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — electric
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. foot — a measure
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. kid — to tease
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. rush — hurry
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. current — of water
  22. kid — child
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com